In a system-on-chip (SOC), the components of the SOC are integrated on a single chip. While the high integration of the components in the SOC provides advantages such as chip area savings and better signal quality, the power consumption measurements of each individual component can be difficult because the logic and power domains in the SOC cannot be isolated easily using external means.
When the SOC is used in a mobile platform, the idle power consumption of the SOC is a key metric to determine the battery life of the mobile platform. Similarly, the thermal design power of the SOC is another key metric for the mobile platform as it indicates the maximum power consumed under real application workload. The dynamic power consumption of the SOC can assist in the design of a chassis for the mobile platform to make it more efficient, in the design of a heat sink with better heat dissipation and/or the platform cooling design. In a conventional SOC design, measuring the idle and dynamic power consumption of the SOC is not easy and may not be possible depending on the design of the SOC.